CAMPING: PART THREE

Slowly my friends started trickling into the camp and I bit my tongue every single time someone would ask why Sarah and I had only taken two sites. I mean, granted, we didn't reserve a spot; but also, Sarah and I were the only ones who got to the camp in the first place to get the ones we had now, so everyone could cry me a river. The only one who would have had an excuse not to help secure a site was Jeff because he was working, and he still managed to exchange the tents and bring all the furniture during his lunch break.

Once everyone was there, it took very little time to get everything set up. Tents and pop ups found their spaces, beds were made, the campfire was already crackling. I'm going to be honest. Once the tent got staked into the ground and Jeff got there, I was feeling pretty good. I didn't have the anxiety I was feeling pretty much the entire time before we got there. But I did know a serious thunderstorm was coming and even though I had a good feeling that our tent would stay upright, I was still a little nervous. But even though it was dreary, I thought the trees looked beautiful.

Food was ready at about seven and we all sat down and ate together. Foil wrap is a magnificent thing. Other than the typical hotdogs and hamburgers, we had stopped at a vegetable stand and picked up a dozen ears of corn and four or five zucchini squash, which we drizzled with butter, wrapped in foil and threw in the coals. We did the same to golden potatoes and onions. Yum!!
By 7:45, we knew the storm was pretty much right on top of us, so we quickly grabbed all the things that we knew we would appreciate more if they stayed dry and placed them in cars and tents.

I have always loved thunderstorms. I've just never had to sleep outside during one. At 8:15, the sky came down and I lay in the bed next to Jeff, praying that the tent would stay up. It was only rain, but it was coming down really hard, and watching the lightning through the fabric of the tent was pretty exciting. We talked and giggled in the dark, and my friend Sarah and I yelled to each other back and forth through the screen, laughing that we couldn't hear each other over the thunder. By ten o clock I was out like a light.

I woke up at 1:30 am because I heard my friend Brian moving around. There was a group of teenagers at the far end of the campground who had a vehicle that kept sounding its alarm....and they didn't find it necessary to turn off the darn thing. Since we were awake anyway, we walked to the other campsite, found that our friend Chris was also awake; started a little fire in the pit and hung out for about an hour before we went back to sleep.

OK, now I can show you some pictures of WHY I can say "Don't cry for me, Argentina". I am totally spoiled and I'm not really sure I went camping, for that matter! Hehe.

First of all, leave it to the love of my life to discover that we UNKNOWINGLY managed to snag the only campsite that had live outlets. Guess what he plugged in first....huh? Any guesses? Ahhh, sweet laptop....How would he ever live without you? This is camping?!!! Hehehehe!

And then, now that everyone knows the outlets are there, here's what I woke up to the following morning: Percolating coffee! Larry woke up at five in the morning, drove back to his house and packed up his coffee maker and mugs!



And let's not forget the ORGANIC pancake batter that comes out of a whipped cream can...straight into the pan! ORGANIC? I doubt it!! HA!





And the biggest reason I know I'm a spoiled baby, but thank goodness I am because I don't think I would have enjoyed myself at all - our bed!